{"id":31555,"date":"2025-06-26T01:39:18","date_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31555"},"modified":"2025-06-26T01:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T08:39:18","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-the-tale-of-oiwas-ghost-1961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31555","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: THE TALE OF OIWA\u2019S GHOST (1961)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is\ncurrently available for purchase.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I\u2019ll admit that when I initially read up basic information\nabout the general plot of The Tale of Oiwa\u2019s Ghost<\/em>, it sounded very\nfamiliar. So much so, that I initially thought it may have been a re-release or\npart of a set that I had already reviewed. But after putting it on, I realized\nit wasn\u2019t a reissue and that there was a reason for my confusion with the brief\nplot synopsis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story is based on Yotsuya Kaidan<\/em>, one of the most\nfamous Japanese ghost stories of all time. Written 200 years ago, the tale is\nso popular that there have been dozens of adaptations on stage and screen,\nincluding one that I have seen and reviewed on Blu-ray (1959\u2019s The Ghost of\nYotsuya<\/em> from the Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories<\/em> box set that\nwas released last year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Tale of Oiwa\u2019s Ghost<\/em> aka The Ghost Story of\nOiwa\u2019s Spirit<\/em> was made in 1961 and is considered another one of strongest\nfilm adaptations of the story. Indeed, this black-and-white, widescreen title\nis impressively shot, well-acted, and it includes some eerie visuals that help\nthe film stand above many other versions. Since I have only seen a few takes on\nthe story, I\u2019m not knowledgeable to determine whether it is the best one, but\nit certainly is among the most impressive and in many respects equals and\/or\nimproves upon the 1959 edition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Radiance Films have done an excellent job bringing this\ntitle to Blu-ray. The high-definition digital transfer is super, resulting in a\nclean and impressive picture with very solid black levels and no pixelation or\ndistortion. There are some wonderful dimly lit shots in the movie that really\nshine thanks to this transfer, as well as a couple of enlightening extras that\nmake this a recommended release for Japanese cinema enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story follows a desperate samurai Lemon Tamiya\n(Tomisabur\u00f4 Wakayama) who is on the outs with his wife Oiwa (Ayuko Fujishiro)\nfollowing a confrontation that resulted in the slaying of another man. After\nbumping into an aristocratic young woman in a market, the lead impresses her\nwith an act of kindness. But he sees it as an opportunity, as becoming husband\nto the wealthy and pretty young woman would allow him to climb up the social\nladder. For him, the only obstacle in accomplishing his goal is his wife. The\ngreedy man and his pals concoct a scheme to cause her death using a harmful\nointment. It goes to plan, with the cream ultimately cousin a horrific\ndisfigurement and the woman\u2019s suicide. When she passes, he assumes all is well.\nThat is, until her spirit returns, attacking and taking revenge on those who\ncaused her passing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The acting is exceptionally good in this effort, with\ndirector Tai Kat\u00f4 (who served as second unit director on Akira Kurosawa\u2019s Rashomon<\/em>,\nas well as several action titles) abandoning the usual fast-cutting shocks for\nunsettling and effective long takes. The characters interact and get into\nconfrontations over these extended set-ups and the framing frequently uses\nlow-angles (those used for the swamp scenes are very striking) that create a\nforeboding atmosphere. Additionally, when the leads are indoors, there are a\ngreat deal of backgrounds with bars and lines that add a sense of\nclaustrophobia.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Towards the final act, when the ghost begins pursuing her\nvictims, viewers are treated to more great images. One includes the spirit\nattached to a door that rises out of the swamps and spins around. Additionally,\na bold sequence involving the woman\u2019s hand coming out of a washing bin and\ngrasping at others really makes an impression. As mentioned, the sight of a\npale hand rising out of a dimly lit bucket is memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a well-paced and compelling told effort that manages\nto add enough unique angles and ideas to stand out among its peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And, the bonuses are equally impressive. There is an intro\nto the film with movie expert Mari Asato, who gives viewers a brief primer on\nwhat to look out for from this adaptation. She also appears in an interview in\nthe bonus material. After mentioning that the tale is so famous that most\nviewers typically watch these films just to see how each director handles the\nscarring on Oiwa and the climactic shock moments, she looks at how Kat\u00f4 sets up\nthe film\u2019s big jolts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The authority makes mention that this story is actually a\nspin-off of the famous 47 Ronin<\/em> tale. Lemon Tamiya is a character who wasn\u2019t\nable to serve with the heroes of that story and fight for his leader, and thus it\u2019s\nimportant to note how, as a result, his life seems to be spiraling downward and\nhe becomes increasingly overtaken by selfish pursuits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She discusses a few unique touches that the director brought\nto the film. Noting that he was primarily an action film director, she points\nout how he took a different approach to this ghost story. She also mentions\nthat some of the characters have been slightly altered in this retelling. While\nthe overall tone may be a little meaner in the 1959 version, one nasty\ncharacter is made more likable in this version. The speaker notes that she\nlikes all films based on this subject, and the discussion implies that she has\na fondness for this one because of its interesting variations from the norm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In addition, there is a visual essay that compares several\nmajor moments from different films about the story. At times, viewers see three\nor four different versions of the same shock play next to each other. There is\nsome text to give a bit of set-up and it is interesting and fun to watch,\nalthough I wish it had also included the names and years of the titles being\nshown on screen as they appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with most Radiance Films titles, this is a \u201cLimited\nEdition\u201d that also comes with a booklet featuring a new essay on the movie and\nan archival review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you enjoy the Yotsuya Kaidan<\/em> story, then The\nTale of Oiwa\u2019s Ghost<\/em> is another Blu-ray worth adding to your collection.\nIt\u2019s another technically impressive and engaging retelling of the famous\nchiller that will please genre fans. The Blu-ray boasts an image better than\nany previously released in this part of the world and the entire package is\ncertainly worth checking out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d Blu-ray from Radiance Films is currently available for purchase. I\u2019ll admit that when I initially read up basic information about the general plot of The Tale of Oiwa\u2019s Ghost, it sounded very familiar. So much so, that I initially thought it may have been a re-release or part of a set that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[90,2939,2949,8262,10386,15922,16584,17341,17601,19513,22369,22370,23054,24633],"class_list":["post-31555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-90","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-review-2","tag-blasts-from-the-past-blu-ray-reviews","tag-ghost-story","tag-japanese","tag-period","tag-radiance-films","tag-ronin","tag-samurai","tag-tai-kato","tag-the-tale-of-oiwas-ghost","tag-the-tale-of-oiwas-ghost-blu-ray-review","tag-tomisaburo-wakayama","tag-yotsuya-kaidan"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31555\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}